Public value Co-creation in collaborative governance: A complex adaptive systems analysis of gender-based violence policy implementation in Pangani district,Tanzania

Abstract

This article seeks to examine how interactions within multi-actor systems of governance influence the co-creation of public value in the implementation of policies to address gender-based violence in a rural district of Tanzania. Using a framework of complex adaptive systems, we test the extent to which relations among different actors determine outcomes of collaborative governance in settings of high policy complexity. Our mixed-methods case study incorporated data from key informant interviews, surveys, focus group discussions and a review of documentary evidence. Our findings show that adaptive leadership and processes of reflective learning are critical to achieving effective patterns of collaboration and improving outcomes of policy implementation. In particular, application of the reflective learning approach by a local NGO resulted in iterative processes of learning, continuous mechanisms for feedback and extensive decentralization of decision-making. These adaptations increased community capacity for self-regulation, improved mechanisms for accountability and enhanced local ownership of interventions to address gender-based violence. The paper also demonstrates that outcomes of policy implementation arise from nonlinear processes of mutual adaptation and collaborative problem-solving among diverse stakeholders, rather than solely from directives originating at the top of the policy system. The authors contribute to the literature on collaborative processes of co-creation of public value, and confirm the capacity of adaptive systems of network-based governance to produce substantially more responsive and context-appropriate outcomes of policy implementation for complex social conditions of development. This experience also provides valuable lessons for policymakers and practitioners of development.